E-mail this article

To:

Invalid E-mail address

Add a personal message:(80
character limit)Your E-mail:

Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

Last week’s decision by the Patriots to place linebacker Brandon Spikes on injured reserve was not a mutual one, according to Spikes’s agent, which contradicts reports that Spikes knew of the team’s intent and was OK with the move.

A statement issued Monday night by Premier Sports & Entertainment, the company that represents Spikes, took issue with “a few of the erroneous points which have been circulating” regarding the designation, which ended Spikes’s season. The fourth-year pro from Florida also has been dealing with a lingering knee injury, which played a factor in the IR decision. The statement said that Spikes, after getting a second opinion on Monday in Los Angeles, won’t need surgery at this time.

The Patriots placed Spikes on IR Jan. 6. An ESPN report on Saturday – hours before the Patriots beat the Colts in a divisional-round playoff game – said that part of the reason was because Spikes showed up late for a practice on Jan. 3. That was the day a big storm hit the area, dumping as much as two feet of snow.

While the statement released Monday night – which was attributed to Gary Uberstine, Spikes’s agent – didn't mention whether Spikes made it to practice on time, it stressed that he didn’t want to stop playing by being placed on IR.

“The team’s decision to place Brandon on Injured Reserve was not a mutual decision, nor need it be. Brandon had every intention to keep playing throughout the playoffs, despite the pain he was experiencing throughout the season,” the statement read in part. “We never had a single conversation with the Patriots in which they threatened to release him if he didn’t accept the Injured Reserve designation. Spikes has been a great teammate, and nobody can question the passion with which he plays the game, or how important he had been to the Patriots success.

“Although he is disappointed that he won’t be able to line up alongside his teammates this weekend against the Broncos, he won’t let these rumors serve as a distraction.”